Starbound: Floran's Heart
by lloyd1191
Summary: Follow the story of Seba, a Floran hunter who is rejected by her tribe, because of her strange behavior. Life for her was normal, until the day she was faced with a choice that could kill her, be who she is, or be a Floran.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Florans hunt, stab, and eat. That's what we are thought since the day we are born, and know very little of anything else. Florans enjoy the hunt, it's fun, and it puts food in our bellies, but Floran is different. Floran used to enjoy the hunt, I even stabbed a monkey before, which was a lot of fun. However, a summer ago, Floran started to feel less joy when hunting, and it started in one of those hunts. Floran can remember it very well, and Floran is surprised that Floran can remember for that long.

Floran and her friends were hunting a bird man, don't know how he got to Floran territory, but Floran didn't care, there was food trying to get away. Bird man didn't know the forest like Floran did, and Floran caught him without any problem. Then, Floran did what every other Floran enjoy doing, and stabbed the bird man, but that was when everything changed for Floran. Floran looked into bird man's eyes, seeing the bird man's life leaving him, and instead of feeling happy for stabbing him, Floran didn't feel that. Floran didn't know why, and didn't know what Floran should feel, but felt something different. After stabbing bird man and taking it back to the tribe, Florans ate with a smile, happy to have food, but Floran didn't feel like eating much. After that day, Floran decided not to hunt prey that looked like bird man, but hunted other prey from the forest. It felt different from hunting bird man, some of those prey proved to be more challenging when they fought back. That looked weird to some of Floran's tribe, hunt some prey, but not other prey, since Florans are hunters. Florans are strong, could defeat and capture an Ixodoom, they asked why Floran didn't want to hunt all prey. Floran said that Floran didn't want to, and that was it. Since then, most Florans avoid Floran, some hiss at Floran, other ignore Floran, and other say very little to Floran.

It is a new day now, Floran prepares to leave house and hunt for food. Floran grab sword and shield, put Nomad's armor on, leave house, and heads straight to the forest. On the way, Floran is stopped by a familiar, and very friendly voice.

"On your way out, are you?" asks Greenfinger Idalla, an elderly Floran with long brown foliage, with some flowers of different colors, and yellow skin. Even though she's old, she still looks as smart as ever. She was a very respected Greenfinger, still respected for her skills, but another Floran hunter took charge of tribe. Greenfinger is the only one who would talk with Floran.

"Floran going to hunt for food," Floran say.

"To be more precise, you're going to get some breakfast."

"Is it food?"

"Yes, it's food that's called breakfast, because you're eating it in the morning."

"Sounds complicated, food is food." Floran still don't know why Greenfinger likes to make things complicated.

"Of course, take care of yourself, Seba." Floran nods, and gets into the forest.

Floran has been looking for prey, and finds it very easily. Florans should feel lucky that forest has plenty of meat to eat, even though there is plenty of fruit in the forest's trees. Floran likes both, so Floran has easy time of finding food, and never starving. That's one of the things that Florans find weird about Floran, likes to eat fruit just as much as eating meat. When it comes to food, Floran thinks that Florans shouldn't be too picky. Floran stabs prey, but it moves in time to avoid sword. Floran is going to have fun with it, hunt is always fun for Floran when prey can put up a challenge. The prey is big, just as big as Floran, but Floran has fought worse, have survived The Hunt, never won big prize, but always survived. The prey is ferocious, fights back against Floran, but Floran is better fighter, better hunter, and attacks when Floran see the opportunity. The prey falls to the ground, and Floran stabs it one more time to make sure it's death. With the prey death, Floran gets to work on getting meat, and takes pelt. Florans might not like talking with Floran, but still willing to trade for good pelt. Now, Floran's stomach makes noise, Floran is hungry, have to walk back to tribe, but too hungry. Floran always have tools to start fire, and Floran does it easily, had a lot of practice in the past. Floran gets meat on stick, and start to cook it. Smells very good, can't wait to eat it, juicy and tasty meat. Then, Floran hears a loud noise, sounded like a shot, other Florans might be hunting something, doesn't concern Floran, Floran is too busy and too hungry to care at the moment. When meat gets ready, Floran starts to eat meat, only problem was the noise of the guns, Floran would have liked to eat in peace.

The noise continues, but there isn't that much meat left, so Floran eats it quick to leave the noise. With meat done and belly full, Floran prepares to head back to tribe. The noise stops, they probably already killed the prey, Floran is already fed and is going back home. Before Floran could start to leave, Floran hears a noise to the left, and see something that Floran never expected to see. Floran have never seen something like that before, but have heard through stories, and Floran was certain that the creature standing there, was a fish girl. Smaller than Floran, she was white and pink, with three pointy purple things at each side of the back of her head. Half of her face was pink, while her mouth and throat was white. Three eyes, two on the normal place, and a third one on the forehead. She was wearing some strange clothes that Floran have never seen, but Floran could see a red cross on the shoulder. The red eyes were looking at Floran, and it was the look in her eye that made Floran feel something strange. The fish girl starts to run away, and she disappears into the forest. Floran didn't want to hunt her, Floran was already full, there was no need to eat more. Floran was about to leave, when Floran was stopped again, this time, by another Floran with a spear in hand. The Floran was Rak, he was the chief's hunter, with spiky red foliage, green skin, and wearing the same armor as Floran. Rak looks around, and looks at Floran.

"Where did she go?" asks Rak.

"Who?" Floran asks, and didn't know why.

"The fish girl, where did she go?!"

"Floran don't know, Floran didn't see a fish girl." Floran was lying, and didn't know why would Floran lie. Rak says nothing else, and runs into the forest. Floran doesn't know why, but Floran hopes that fish girl gets away.

Floran got back from the forest, took the pelt and gave it to the trader for more food. Trader ran out of meat, so Floran took fruits and vegetables. As compensation, trader was willing to give me a shield, which is better than the one that Floran have. Floran was going back home, until Floran heard some cheering, probably for the hunters coming back with some food for tribe. It doesn't concern Floran, most of the time it doesn't, until Floran hears a lot of hissing from the tribe. There's no reason to hiss at the hunters, they brought food for the time, they killed prey, they should be praised. That got Floran's curiosity and went to see what was going on. Floran pushed through the crowd, and saw what was going on, something that Floran didn't want to see. The crowd was standing in front of the chief's house, and the hunters were dragging the bodies of two fish men. They were dead, blood painting the grown red, stab wounds in chest and stomach. That's not what bothered Floran, Floran had seen plenty of dead prey, but what bothered Floran, was the fish girl being dragged on the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Floran should have known better, fish girl doesn't know the forest like Florans, but Floran is still surprised that she's still alive. Florans always stab first, and eat later, because it's easier to eat meat when it's not screaming. The fish girl has her hands free, but can't free herself from the hunter. It's not surprising, Florans are strong, hunt is our life, always fighting prey, makes Floran strong. The hunter dragging her throws her next to the dead fish men. The fish girl get on all four, and looks towards the dead fish men. She immediately sits on her legs, and puts her hands on her mouth. No one else seems to notice, but Floran notice the tears in her eyes, and Floran feels something for the fish girl. Floran doesn't know what it is, it's not a desire to stab her, but it's something that Floran can't put her finger on. Then, the door of the chief's house swings open, and it gets everyone's attention, even the fish girl. There, on the doorstep of his house, stood Adjoda, chief of the Floran tribe. He's respected and feared as a strong hunter, he's known to have won The Hunt with his trusty hammer. He looks at the crowd around his house, and looks down at the fish girl, who cowers in fear.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Adjoda.

"Chief, we have brought some fish people to throw a feast for the tribe," said Rak.

"Then why didn't you stab the fish girl?" said Adjoda as he points at the fish girl.

"Floran brought this fish girl all for yourself, chief. A gift from one of your most loyal hunters." Adjoda looks back at the girl, and starts walking towards her. The fish girl doesn't move, she can't move, Floran can see that she's shaking in fear. Adjoda stands in front of her, looking at her for a moment, before grabbing her by the shoulder, and pulling her to her feet. Adjoda was a little bit taller than other Florans, but compared to the fish girl, he's a head taller than her. He grabs her chin with the other hand, and turns her face from side to side. Everyone was quiet, but Floran could see smiles on their faces, some licking their mouths, barely holding themselves from tearing the dead fish apart, and cook her parts. Then, the silence is interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What's going on here?" asks Idalla, who pushed her way through the crowd. She looks at the dead fish men in the ground, and gasps. The chief looks towards the Greenfinger, and smiles.

"Idalla, glad you could join us," said Adjoda, Floran could hear the delight in his voice.

"What happened here? Why are these men dead?" Idalla sounded angry, and Floran knows why. She had always tried to teach Floran to stop hunting what she called, people. Florans never paid attention to that, and ignored her.

"The fish men were stabbed, but this one was offered to Floran as a gift."

"These are Hylotl, not fish men, and I demand that you let that girl go!" Floran was afraid of Idalla trying to start a fight with Adjoda. Everyone knew what would happen if they fought.

"Oh, Idalla, you're still the same old Greenfinger, the same Greenfinger who lost her position as chief." Adjoda lets go of the fish girl, and walks up to Idalla. "Because of your weakness."

"Respecting life is no sign of weakness, Adjoda. Now, realease the girl, and let her go back to where she came from." Many Florans hissed at the suggestion, but a wave of Adjoda's hand made them go silent.

"Idalla, you misunderstand, just because you're a Greenfinger, doesn't mean you have any authority here. Sure, Floran haven't exactly killed you, but that's only because of your skills, and nothing else." Idalla kept glaring at Adjoda. A Floran approach the chief, and offers a spear in his hand. Adjoda reaches for the spear, and Idalla looks at the hand, but it stops. "However, Floran just ate, and Floran's stomach is full. Killing her right now would make the meat spoil much faster." He calls a Floran named Luliku, who has a purple flower on her head, with a few blue leaves coming down from the side and back of her head, and light blue skin. She also works for the chief, and Idalla called her Adjoda's left hand once, but Floran doesn't understand what that means. "Take her to a cell, and make sure no one eats her." Adjoda is the chief, and a very strong chief, but hunger is stronger than fear. Idalla looks worried, looks around, Floran doesn't know why, maybe to hit Luliku. Then, Idalla looks at Floran, and smiles, not like other Florans, but a different smile.

"Wait!" yells Idalla, and everyone stops what they were doing. Everyone look at Idalla, and she looks at the chief. "I have a proposition."

"And what would that be?" says Adjoda.

"There's a particular Floran, who I would like you to give the opportunity to prove herself to you." Adjoda looks curious.

"Which Floran are you talking about?" Idalla points at Floran.

"Her." Everyone looks at Floran, and those around Floran back away. Floran just points at herself. "Yes, you, Seba. Get over here." Floran leaves the crowd, and some of the Florans hiss at Floran. When Floran gets to Idalla, she puts an arm around Floran. "I'm sure you've heard of this particular Floran." The chief looks closely at Floran.

"Ah, yes, Floran have heard of this one, a very strange one." says Adjoda.

"I prefer unique, and I'm sure you want to keep the Hylotl alive for later, right?"

"Yes, that was the plan."

"Well, you must have heard about Seba's reluctance in stabbing certain prey, right?"

"Yes, that's why she's strange, not very Floran."

"In a way, which is why I think she would be a very good choice in keeping an eye on the Hylotl. Since, you know, she doesn't like to stab, and it would be a big favor for me, if you can give her the chance to prove herself as a good Floran." Floran doesn't need to prove anything, Flora is still Floran, Floran just doesn't want to hunt certain prey, especially one who doesn't want to fight. Adjoda seems to be thinking about it, because he starts to rub his chin. Floran doesn't think he will agree, he has two hunters working with him closely, sounds like a better idea to put one of them.

"Very well, she will guard Floran's prisoner," says Adjoda, and Floran has no idea why. "Now, take the prisoner to her cell, and make sure no one eats her, or Floran will smash your skull, and feed you to the tribe, understood?" Floran looks behind her, and sees some Florans licking their lips. Floran knows who Idalla feels about our tradition, so Floran knows that she's upset at the very idea. Floran looks back at the chief, and has no choice, but to nod. "Well, get on with it. As for the rest of us, we have some meat to prepare." The Florans around us cheer, and start to drag the dead fish men away. The fish girl looks at the dead fish men for a moment, and when a dead fish men's arm is cut off, she looks away. Floran walks up to the fish girl, Floran grabs her arm, and she looks at Floran. Floran thought she would struggle, but she gave me a weird look, and Floran pull her up. What Floran don't know, is why Floran did it gently, Floran usually drag prey, mostly when it's dead. So Floran don't know why Floran pulled the fish girl gently. What's the most surprising, is that the fish girl didn't put any struggle, she just got up, but Floran still had a hold of her arm, just in case. Florans around us hiss at us, or maybe at the fish girl, and some of them suggest to make the fish girl to walk on her own by stabbing her. There was no need to do that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Floran takes the fish girl down into the dungeon, and we walk past some guards, some of who take a moment to hiss at the fish girl. That made her cling to me, for some reason that Floran can't understand. There aren't that many guards around, because most of them prefer to go into the woods to hunt, instead of standing around and guarding the very few prisoners that we have left. Most of them were probably already eaten, something that Floran avoided, because Floran was already full. Along the way, the fish girl never gave Floran any problem, and never attempted to escape from Floran. She probably never saw the point of doing it, there are many Florans out of here, and even with the few guards that we have, they would be fast enough to catch her. We finally reach the cells, and some of the prisoners started to hiss, slam against the bars, and try to reach for the fish girl, but Floran makes sure she's out of their reach.

"Flesh! Flesh!" screams one of the prisoners.

"Floran hungry!" screams another. Floran looks at the fish girl, and Floran can tell that she's scared. Floran pull out sword, and hit the bars closest to Floran.

"Quiet, all of you!" Floran yells, and the prisoners quiet down. They know that Floran could kill them, and feed them to the other Florans. What they don't know, is that Floran can't do it right now. There was an empty cell nearby, but for some reason, Floran didn't want to put the fish girl there, too close from the other prisoners. Floran decided to put her somewhere really far away from the other prisoners, a cell in the corner. Floran pulls a lever on the wall, and the door of the cell opens, and guide the fish girl into the cell. She takes a few steps into the cell, and Floran use the lever to close the door. After that, Floran just leans on the wall, and as Floran was told, Floran guard the fish girl. Floran look at her, to see what she was going to do, and Floran is surprised. Most Florans that are put in the cell immediately grab the bars and shake them, thinking that they can pry them open. She, however, just stands there, looking at the wall, but after a few moments, she drops to her knees, puts her hands on her face, and starts to make a familiar noise. Not only that, but Floran can see the fish girl shaking, and Floran knew what she was going. She was crying, Floran doesn't know if it's for the other fish men, or that she was going to be eaten, but Floran knew one thing. Floran didn't like to hear her cry, it made Floran feel bad, which is the weirdest thing. Floran didn't have anything to do with her getting captured, or those other fish men getting stabbed. Floran looks away, and sits on the floor, since standing the whole day was tiresome. The fish girl stopped crying too loud, but Floran knows that she's sad. Floran couldn't handle the quiet right now.

"You know, Floran hoped that you could have gotten away from those hunters," Floran says, even though Floran doesn't know if the fish girl can understand Floran, but Floran keeps talking. "Floran doesn't know why, but after Floran stabbed that bird man a summer ago, Floran didn't want to stab that kind of prey anymore. You're no bird man, but you feel like the bird man, in a different way." After Floran said that, Floran hears footsteps, and Floran looks at the fish girl, who moved close to the bars, and sits on the floor. "That's why Floran didn't want to stab you, Floran just didn't want to, and that was it. Floran doesn't know why, but if you can understand Floran, Floran is sorry about the fish men, and about you ending in that cell." Floran looks at the floor, Floran didn't want to keep looking at the fish girl.

"Guilt" says a voice, and Floran looks around, not knowing where the voice came from. Then, Floran looks at the fish girl. Floran couldn't believe it, but the fish girl speaks again. "You felt guilt." Floran is so surprised, that Floran had to take a moment to understand what was going on.

"You understand Floran?" Floran asks.

"Yes," answers the fish girl.

"Oh, okay. So what is this 'guilt' that you're talking about?"

"Guilt is when you do something bad, and you feel bad about it."

"That's guilt? Floran feels guilt? Why would Floran feel guilt?"

"Because you killed an Avian."

"Avian? You mean the bird man?"

"Yes, he was an Avian, and you killed him."

"Well, Avian was prey, Floran hunt prey, that's what hunters do."

"But he wasn't some random animal in the forest, he was a person. Someone with feelings, someone with thoughts, someone who probably had a family and friends, people he loved."

"You almost make him sound like a Floran."

"He wasn't a Floran, but he was someone, and you killed him." Floran doesn't know what to say, Floran gets up, turns away from fish girl, and walks to the rail, but Floran doesn't know why. Floran did what all Florans did, Florans hunt prey, stab prey, and eat meat. Florans are hunters, Florans must eat meat to survive. The Avian wasn't Floran, so it was prey, and prey is hunted for meat. Floran knows this, but it still doesn't make Floran feel good, it just makes Floran feel bad. He could feel like Floran, he could think like Floran, and if that was true, then that would mean the same for the many other that Floran have stabbed. It hurts, it hurts Floran's head, Floran puts hands on head, but it doesn't make it go away. The prisoners start to make noise, their hiss and words are just noise, it makes everything worse.

"Shut up! All of you shut up!" Floran screams, the noise goes away, but not the pain, it hurts everywhere now.

"Hey," says a voice, and Floran looks behind. The fish girl had a hand extended towards Floran. "Come here." Floran doesn't know for what, but Floran does what the fish girl said. Floran walks closer to her cell, but Floran keep out of reach from her hand. Floran looks at the fish girl, to see if she was planning something, but she only kept her hand extended. Floran reach for her hand, but Floran doesn't know if it's safe, so Floran does it with caution. Floran puts hand on top of the fish girl's, and she grabs it, but gently. Then, the fish girl extends her other hand, and Floran wants to get closer, as if something was telling Floran that it was safe. When Floran gets closer, the fish girl wraps her arms around Floran, and it startled Floran.

"How are you feeling?" asks the fish girl, and Floran wraps arms around her, but it's a little weird with the bars in the middle.

"It still hurts," Floran says.

"If he was here, would you apologize?"

"An apology won't bring him back, or the others."

"No, it won't, but you tried to make things right, and that matters."

"It still won't bring them back." The fish girl lets go of Floran, grabs Floran's face with her hands, and looks at Floran in the eye.

"Then accept what happened, what you have done, and forgive yourself, so you can move on." Floran doesn't know why, but it makes Floran feel better, and Floran cries. Then, Floran feels something wipe a tear off from Floran's face, and it was the fish girl's finger. "What's your name?"

"Seba."

"Seba, you're a nice Floran. A very nice Floran." She pulls away from Floran, and walks deeper into the cell.

"Wait, do you have a name?" The fish girl stops, and looks at Floran.

"Yuki, it was nice to meet you." Then, she lays on the floor, and stays there. Floran knows what was going on, fish girl was ready to die, and Floran was keeping her in her cell. Her, who was nice to Floran, the Floran who put her in the cell. Floran can't let her die, Floran knows that if she dies here, Floran will always feel bad for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Floran has to get Yuki out of here, but even if Floran manage to get her out of here, we would be hunted throughout the forest. Wait, Floran remembered something that Idalla said a long time ago.

"Yuki, do you have something called 'spaceship'?" says Floran. Yuki sits on the floor, turns around, and looks at Floran.

"Yes, I got to this planet on a spaceship, why?" asks Yuki, but Floran has no time to explain.

"Where is the spaceship?" Yuki looks at something on her wrist before answering.

"It's a few miles to the east from here." Floran doesn't know what miles are, but Idalla said it was some kind of way to 'measure' distance.

"If Floran started running towards the spaceship, how long would it take? A day? Two days?" Yuki gets up from the floor, and walks to the bars.

"Why are you asking this?"

"Just answer the question, how long?"

"If you're fast, it would take less than a day, maybe even less than half a day." That's good enough for Floran. Floran heard from Idalla that spaceships can fly into the stars, so if we reach it in time, Yuki could get out of here safely. Floran moves to the lever of her cell, and push it down. The door opens, and Yuki looks surprised. Floran doesn't have time for this, so Floran grabs her hand, and starts to pull her out of the dungeon.

"Where are we going?" asks Yuki.

"Out of here," says Floran.

"What? Why?"

"Not talk time, move time now." The prisoners in the dungeon start to make noise, but Floran hit the bars with Floran's sword, and they fall silent again. We stop near the entrance, and Floran looks around the corner. There was only one guard at the other side, who looked very bored. He probably had to stay guard there, and he was missing the party that the others were having.

"Wait here," Floran says, and walk around the corner. Floran heads straight to the guard, who notice Floran's approach.

"Hey, where are you going?" asks the guard.

"Floran is hungry, going to get some food."

"You're supposed to guard the fish girl."

"She's in her cell, she's not going anywhere." The guard seems to think on it.

"Fair enough, and while you're at it, get something for Floran too." Floran walks a few steps. Once Floran gets next to him, Flora pulls out Floran's sword, and hit him in the head with the hilt. He didn't see it coming, and falls to the floor. Floran looks at Yuki, and wave her over, while looking around to make sure no one heard or saw what happened. When she gets to Floran, we go on our way of the dungeon, and we were lucky that it was pretty much empty. Once we get above ground, Floran looks around, and can see that everyone is at the party. We take the opportunity to sneak out of the tribe, and head into the forest. Floran knew the forest very well, Floran probably doesn't know what 'miles' and 'hours' are, but Floran does know where East is. Floran starts running as fast as possible, but I hear Yuki calling.

"Seba, wait!" Floran looks back, and notice Yuki falling behind. Floran slows down so that she could catch up.

"We have to go faster," says Floran.

"I can't go that fast." Floran should have expected that, otherwise she wouldn't have been captured in the first place. Floran could only think on one solution, so Floran puts it into action. Floran grabs the fish girl, puts her on Floran's shoulder, and run. Floran is surprised that Yuki was really light.

"What are you doing?!" asks Yuki.

"Floran is carrying you," says Floran, even though it was pretty obvious.

"Why?"

"It's faster." Yuki goes quiet for a moment.

"How long do you think it will take them to notice I'm gone?" After Yuki asked that, we hear noise in the distance, and Floran knows very well what it is.

"Floran hoped for long." Floran doesn't even stop to look, Floran just keeps running as fast as possible. We might have a head start on them, but I worry mostly about the Florans that might be in the forest. Not only that, but since Floran is more focused on reaching the ship, Floran had no time to erase our tracks. We continue on our way, Floran hopes to be going the right way, and haven't seen anyone so far.

"Okay, turn right, and keep going forward," says Yuki, and Floran does as instructed. Floran sees a hill in the distance, but instead of going over it, Floran starts running around it. Half way going around the hill, I hear Yuki yell.

"Watch out!" Floran had enough time to look to the right, and see someone dropping down on us from the top of the trees. Floran looks around, and quickly throws Yuki on some bushes. Then, Floran pulls out Floran's shield just in time to block the blade coming Floran's way. Floran prepares for combat and pulls out Floran's sword. Floran look at her attacker, and it turns out to be one of Adjoda's hunter, Luliku.

"How did you know Floran was coming here?" asks Floran.

"Floran didn't, but Floran didn't trust you, never did. Floran suspected you would set her free, and try to get her to her ship," says Luliku, and points at Floran with a spear.

"Yuki, are you okay?" asks Floran without taking her eyes away from Luliku.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Listen to Floran, Floran will open a path for you. When that happens, you use it, and run as fast as you can without looking back."

"What about you?"

"Floran will handle her." Luliku laughs when Floran says that.

"You think you can beat Floran, one of the chief's best hunters?"

"You forget something Luliku. Just because Floran never defeated the Ixodoom, doesn't mean Floran can't beat you."

"Why don't you prove it with your actions?" Floran wasn't exactly lying. Floran always survived the Hunt, but Floran have seen Luliku fight before, and she's very strong. It doesn't matter, Floran only wants Yuki to leave, no matter if Floran lives or dies here.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

We have no time to waste on the likes of Luliku. However, Floran's objective is not to defeat Luliku, but to get Yuki past her, and to the spaceship. Luliku seems too eager to start, because she spins her spear, jumps into the air, and strikes down. Floran easily blocks it with the shield, and strikes the spear away. Floran tries to slash Luliku, but she quickly parries the attack with the shaft of her spear. We continue to battle very close to each other, but Luliku is able to fight very well, even if her weapon is very long for such a distance. While we are fighting, Yuki tries to sneak past us, but Luliku notice her, and tries to hit her with the shaft of her spear. She ducks just in time to avoid getting hit in the face, but Luliku attacks her legs and makes her fall to the ground. She prepares to stab Yuki, but Floran quickly rushed at her and push her with Floran's shield. Floran doesn't stop there and push her all the way to a tree, pinning her in place.

"Go! Now!" Floran yell at Yuki. She doesn't waste a single second and starts to run into the forest. Luliku manage to push Floran away with her legs, but it was too late for her. Yuki was already gone, but that doesn't stop her and tries to chase after her. Floran runs beside her and shoves her with Floran's shield. That stops Luliku, and she faces Floran, a frown on her face.

"Fine, if Floran has to kill you to catch the fish girl, then Floran will do so with pleasure," says Luliku, and charges at Floran with her spear pointing forward. Floran doesn't back away and moves towards Floran's opponent. Luliku tries to stab Floran, but Floran blocks with the shield. Floran tries to stab Luliku, but she parries Floran's attacks, spins her spear, and brings it down on Floran's head. Floran quickly moves to the side, and pushes Luliku with the shield, leaving her unbalanced. Floran tries to take this opportunity to stab her, but she dodges the attack, grabs Floran's arm, and throws Floran to the floor. Floran rolls on the ground, and looks just in time to see Luliku trying to stab Floran. Floran reacts quickly and parries the attack with the shield, and moves towards Luliku. She tries to stab again, but is parried again, and she tries to attack Floran's legs with the shaft of the spear. Floran see it coming, jumps into the air, and attacks with a thrust to the chest. Luliku rolls under Floran and tries to stab Floran, but Floran parries the attack and tries to bring down Floran's sword on Luliku's head. She blocks it with her spear, but Floran kicks her in the stomach, and push her back. Luliku seems to get angry, and starts to attack with her spear, no longer trying to focus on stabbing. She's willing to simply hit me with her spear, spinning it around, trying to hide her attack. She manage to hit Floran's face with the shaft of her spear, but Floran recovers quickly. Luliku sticks her spear to the floor, and propels herself into the air. Floran thinks she's going to bring it down on Floran, but she attacks with a stab. Floran parries it to the side, but Luliku kicks Floran in the chest. Floran remains standing, but Luliku doesn't let up her attack. She attacks Floran's head with a swing of her spear, but Floran ducks and tries to attack, but Luliku parries it. Then, she jumps using her spear and tries to kick Floran, but Floran dodges and hits her in the face with the shield. Luliku goes down, and Floran tries to finish the job with the sword, but Luliku hits Floran with a double kick to the chin. That pushes Floran back, and she gets up from the floor.

"Floran refuses to believe that you're this strong. Floran refuses!" says Luliku and charges at Floran. She attacks more aggressively, thrusting at an amazing speed, and manage to cut Floran's shoulder, but Floran manage to parry an attack and cut her side. She thrusts with her spear, but Floran parries with shield, and attacks with sword. Luliku parries the attack, but Floran hits her with the shield. She's dazed and tries to attack with her spear, but Floran blocks it and counters with a slash to her leg. It didn't cut it off, but it was deep enough to leave her on the ground. She cries in pain, and Floran would have finished the job, but there was other more important things to do. Before Floran could leave, Luliku gives a warning to Floran.

"You rotten scum, just wait until the chief gets his hands on you! He will crush you and your fish friend, and feed you to the tribe!" says Luliku, and Floran turns around to look at her in the eye.

"He might get Floran, but he won't get Yuki," says Floran, and runs to the direction that Yuki went. Luliku says other things, but Floran doesn't pay attention to a warrior with a wounded pride. Floran can easily find Yuki's tracks, and it doesn't take long for Floran to catch up to Yuki. She looks tired.

"Seba…you…made it," says Yuki through pants.

"You're slow," says Floran. Floran quickly grabs her and carry her on Floran's back.

"Well…sorry, if I'm not as fast…as you."

"Don't worry." Floran continues running, and hears a small gasp. "What's wrong?"

"You're wounded."

"Floran will be fine."

"Put me down, you can't carry me in your condition."

"Floran said she's fine." Floran's face hurt, and shoulder stings, but Floran can't stop or slow down. With the time wasted with Luliku, the chief and his hunters had enough time to get closer. Floran feels arms wrap around Floran's neck, and something press on the back of Floran's head.

"I'm sorry." That was strange.

"For what?" Floran asks.

"For this." Yuki says nothing else, but Floran has an idea of what it was.

"It's not your fault. None of it is."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Floran keeps running without looking back. There's no reason to do so, Floran doesn't even have the luxury to rest. Hunters are closer than before, Luliku was just a waste of time, and Floran still hurts. Yuki hasn't said anything, but that's okay. That means that Floran is going in the right direction.

"We're almost there," says Yuki, which is strange.

"You said it might take half a day," Floran says, not that it matters, the sooner the better.

"You're pretty fast, so it took less than expected."

"Then Floran hopes that you know how to use it, they'll catch us quick once we stop."

"Don't worry, I know how to fly the ship, and I'm taking you with me," Floran doesn't understand.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm taking you with me. I can't leave you here, they'll kill you." Floran can't see it, but Floran can feel that she's worried.

"Don't worry about Floran so much. Your safety is important." Floran feels something on Floran's head, and Floran is keeping eyes looking forward.

"So is yours." Floran has nothing else to say to that. Floran doesn't know what to say, and doesn't want to ruin it with words. Floran keeps running through the forest, and Floran can see a glade. "That's it! That's where the ship is! We're almost out of here!" Floran runs faster, Floran doesn't want to risk anything. The sooner she leaves, the better.

Floran gets into the glade, forest all around us, and a big open space, but there's nothing else. Floran doesn't know anything about spaceships, so Floran looks over shoulder to ask Yuki about it.

"Where's the–" Floran sees it in Yuki's face, and where there should be joy, there's nothing. It makes Floran worry. "Yuki?"

"…No," says Yuki and Floran walks to the middle of the glade.

"Yuki, what's wrong?"

"No, no no no," it's all Yuki keeps saying. Floran puts her down and grabs her shoulders.

"Yuki, what's wrong? We're here, where's the ship? Is it invisible?" Yuki doesn't say anything. She just covers her mouth, looks down, and starts to cry. "Yuki, calm down and tell me, where's the ship?" She closes her eyes, shakes her head once, and says something Floran wasn't ready to hear.

"It's gone."

"…What?"

"The ship…it's gone."

"Maybe we got the wrong place, you might have put it somewhere else." Yuki starts to sob, and shakes her head. This is bad, very bad, the worst that could be happening right now. The ship is gone, and a village of angry hunters are after us. As horrible as it is, we have no time to waste, we have to get out of here. Floran was about to pick Yuki up, but Floran hears noise in the forest. Leaves rustling, twigs snapping, Yuki doesn't hear them, but Floran does. Floran quickly pulls out sword and shield, and keeps Yuki close. Yuki gasps, Floran could hear it, but didn't want to take eyes off the forest around us.

"What is it? Are they here?" asks Yuki. Floran wants to answer, Floran wishes that it was some random prey of the forest, but this is different. Floran has been hunting in this forest for a long time, so Floran knows the difference. The noise stops, they're preparing something, Floran is ready to fight.

Floran hears the first one coming behind us. Yuki probably heard her, but it doesn't matter, Floran is already moving to fight. First, Floran pushes Yuki out of the way, and parries a short sword. Floran cuts the hunter in the chest twice and stab her in the chest. Floran hears another hunter coming from the side. He's carrying a hammer, ready to bring it down on either one of us, but Floran pulls sword out of the other hunter, quickly dashes towards the incoming hunter, and bash him in the face with the shield. Once he's down, Floran stabs him in the face, but two more are coming towards us. Floran keeps them at bay, but it's a bit difficult to kill them. Floran hears a scream behind her, and looks in time to see a hunter dragging Yuki on the ground. Floran shoves the two hunter away, and runs towards Yuki, but two more hunters appear to block the way. Floran tries to force her way through the hunters, but they stand their ground. The hunter dragging Yuki was about to stab her with a dagger, but someone yells an order.

"Stop!" says the familiar voice. Floran looks to the right, and sees him. Walking without a worry in the world, a hammer resting on his shoulder, and a glare on his face. The Floran who took leadership away from Idalla. "You disappoint Floran," says Adjoda, chief of the Floran tribe.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They're here, all the hunters are here. We're surrounded, we have no means of escape, and worst of all, they got Yuki. She's on the ground, held firmly by another hunter, with a dagger ready to be plunged in her chest. The only reason she's still alive, is because Adjoda, chief of the Floran tribe, ordered the hunter to stop. Why the chief would do that confuses Floran. He must be angry for Floran's betrayal, and probably for injuring one of his best hunters.

"Floran should have expected this from you, but it's not entirely your fault. Floran should have known that Idalla planned this whole thing. She probably knew that you, the least Floran of us all, would decide to free our prey, our food, but most importantly, my food," says Adjoda, and starts to walk towards Floran. He signals the hunters around me to leave, and they do without question.

"Then kill Floran, and eat Floran if you must, but leave Yuki alone. She doesn't deserve this," Floran says, and Adjoda responds with a laugh.

"Ha! You think you have the right make demands? Don't worry, you will be killed, but you will not be eaten. Your flesh might be rotten, it could make us all as strange as you," says the chief, as he continues to approach Floran. "She will be eaten of course, and Floran will enjoy it. However, before Floran kills her, Floran wants her to see you die." Adjoda stops in his tracks, and signals the hunter holding Yuki. The hunter takes Yuki away, and while she struggles to escape, it doesn't work. She's simply not strong enough to do it.

"Yuki!" yells Floran, and Floran was about to run after her, but Adjoda stops Floran.

"Hold it right there. If you run after her, Floran will tell them to slice her neck," says Adjoda, and Floran stops. "Now, Floran is a good chief, so Floran will make a deal with the likes of you," says Adjoda as he points at Floran with his hammer. "If you manage to defeat Floran in battle, then you and the fish girl will go free. If you lose…well, Floran is sure that it's pretty obvious." This is no kindness from his heart. Floran has never seen the chief fight, but the fact that Adjoda is still the chief, means that he's strong. He could order the hunters around us to just kill us both, but he refuses, and Floran knows why.

He wants Floran to suffer, he wants Floran to beg for mercy, to cry in despair, but Floran will not give him the pleasure. However, Floran is not the only one he wants to suffer, he wants Yuki to see Floran suffer, wants to show how, her only means of escape, is about be killed in front of her eyes. Floran doesn't know if Floran can do it. Floran doesn't know if Floran can get Yuki out of this mess, but Floran knows this for sure. Floran will do anything, to save Yuki. Floran points Floran's sword towards the chief, and speaks without fear.

"Floran doesn't believe in your word, _Adjoda_ , but you can believe this," Floran prepares to fight, "Floran will save Yuki, even if it gets Floran killed." Adjoda starts to laugh, and when he stops, he grabs his hammer with both hands.

"Floran will remember you as the funniest traitor to have ever existed in this tribe," says Adjoda with a smile. There's no need for words anymore, the hunters have started to hiss and to cheer. They want to see the blood of the traitor fly, and it will, but Floran will shut them up with Adjoda's lifeless body.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

There was no signal, there was no need for one. Our battle had started, and Floran was ready to attack. His weapon was a hammer, too big, too heavy, and easy to dodge. Floran's equipment is a shield and a single-handed sword. Lighter, faster, and Floran has used them for a very long time. Floran rushes towards Adjoda, shield facing forward, and sword ready to strike. Floran is fast, Adjoda stays in place, no signs of him preparing to block or to dodge. Floran is closer, Floran can see where to strike, but that's when instinct warns Floran. Without a second thought, Floran turns to the right and puts her shield forward, and blocks a strike. It was quick, too powerful, and the attack did no damage. However, Floran can feel the ground leave her, and in a few moments, Floran hits something solid. Floran rolls on it, before coming to a stop, Floran's back resting on something. Floran can see the trees reach far, into the horizon, beyond her hand's reach. Wait a minute, that's not the horizon, that's the sky, and this solid thing is…the ground. Floran quickly sits up, looks forward, and Floran can see Adjoda, from the same distance that we started.

"Surprised? You should be, it's not very often that Floran fights against another Floran," says Adjoda with a smile on his face. "However, if that's the best you can do, then it's not a fight. Floran would just call this an execution." Floran doesn't need to hear any more of this. Floran quickly gets up from the ground and approaches Adjoda. Floran keeps enough distance between her and Adjoda, so that his hammer won't be able to reach Floran. He doesn't seem to care how far Floran is from his reach, he simply keeps smiling, but that's not what makes Floran worry. It's the fact that Adjoda seems completely relaxed, no signs of his guard being up, he doesn't seem to feel threatened.

"You must be afraid. Floran doesn't blame you, but that will make it too boring for everyone," says Adjoda.

"Floran doesn't care about that," says Floran.

"Then how about this." As soon as Adjoda finishes saying that, he rests his hammer on his shoulder, and beckons Floran. "I'll let you attack, and Floran won't defend himself." He's mocking Floran, but it won't get to Floran. Then again, Floran could take advantage of his confidence, and use it against him. Floran gets closer, keeping an eye on him and his hammer. Another step, he shows no signs of attack or defense, but Floran's sword can't reach yet. One final step, Floran is within reach, but will not rush into a full attack. Floran will test things out with a quick thrust of my sword. Adjoda surprises Floran, he did keep to his word and he didn't fight back, but he didn't let Floran hit him. He dodged the attack with just a small turn of his body. Floran tries with another trust, and Adjoda dodges again. Floran tries again and again, but none of them connects. Floran tries to swing with her sword, which was a mistake because Adjoda grabs Floran's wrist, and uses Floran's momentum to throw me to the ground. Floran quickly gets up from the ground, with the sword pointing towards Adjoda. He's still smiling, he doesn't see Floran as a threat, he only sees a toy.

"Well, that was entertaining, and while you show brains, you still have no chance of victory," says Adjoda, and he might be right…No, Floran should not think like that. Yuki's life is at stake, Floran cannot and will not give up.

"Talk all you want, Adjoda, but Floran will save Yuki. One way or the other." Adjoda's smile doesn't go away.

"Well, it seems Floran will not see you beg for mercy, and that's okay." Adjoda grabs his hammer in both hands. "Floran has better thing to do right now."

Adjoda charges towards Floran, and Floran moves towards him. He swings with his hammer, but Floran blocks and spins with the blow. Then, Floran tries to swing with Floran's sword, but he quickly ducks, and gets up with a headbutt to Floran's face. Floran has no time to stagger, and Floran is no stranger to pain. Also, Adjoda throws another swing at Floran, but Floran rolls away. However, after Floran finished rolling, he kicked Floran's chest, while Floran was getting up from the ground. Floran is on her back, and Adjoda brings down his hammer towards Floran, but she rolls to the side. Floran quickly gets up from the ground, and charges towards Adjoda, but he dodges the attack and threw Floran over. Floran gets on her knees, just in time to see Adjoda swings his hammer again. Floran blocks it with Floran's shield, but Floran is sent flying again. Floran rolls on the ground before quickly getting up, and charges towards Adjoda. Floran doesn't even get the chance to swing before Floran is just punched in the face, and falls back to the ground.

"Floran has to say, you have a lot of spirit," says Adjoda, but Floran tries not to pay attention to him. Flora has to get back on her feet. "Too bad it was wasted on the fish girl." It's difficult, but Floran can get up, Floran can still fight. Floran turns around, and looks Adjoda in the eye.

"Her name…is Yuki," says Floran.

"Doesn't really matter, her name will become food very soon." Floran doesn't want to hear anymore from him, and attacks with her sword, but he catches Flroan's wrist. He hits Floran's arm, making Floran drop her sword, and punches Floran's face. Floran's consciousness wants to leave, but Floran refuses to let it go. Floran tries to attack with her shield, but he simply stops Floran's attack with one hand, and uses the other to punch Floran in the stomach. It hurt, it took everything for Floran not to puke, but Floran can feel hands grab Floran's head, and a knee coming to Floran's face. That was all it was needed to bring Floran back to the ground. Floran's legs wouldn't keep Floran up, everything hurt and everything is blurry.

"And so, here we are. With me on top, and you to the ground," says Adjoda and Floran feels a kick to Floran's ribs. Floran feels more than that, Floran can feel a rib broken, and Floran groans in pain. Floran rests on Floran's other side, in an attempt to avoid putting pressure on Floran's damaged area. "It's a waste, all that loyalty, and it's used on the wrong thing." Floran isn't even looking at him, Floran can't see anything right now. Floran can only feel pain, Floran can feel Floran's face bleed. Floran can hear the hunters around us, they're cheering for Floran's pain, for Adjoda's victory. Floran just lies on the ground, waits for the pain to lessen enough to get back in the fight.

"Seba!" That voice, that's Yuki's voice. Floran can her footsteps, they're approaching, and they stop close to Floran. "Seba, talk to me!" Floran can feel a hand behind Floran's head, and it's lifted gently. Floran looks up, and focuses on the image in front of Floran's eyes.

"Yuki?" Says Floran.

"It's all right, Seba. You did enough," says Yuki, and Floran can feel drops fall on Seba's face. That's strange, there was no clouds in the sky. "You don't have to do this anymore." Oh, Floran knows now, those aren't simple drops, those are tears.

"This is just so precious!" Floran can hear the barely contained laugh in Adjoda's voice. "You're the most pathetic hunter in the history of this tribe." Floran can see Adjoda taking a step closer towards Yuki and Floran. Then, Floran can feel Yuki pressing Floran's head closer to her. That seems to make Adjoda laugh, and the hunters around us laugh with him.

"Just leave her alone. It's me you want, not her," says Yuki.

"Floran must be crazy to be talking with prey, but it doesn't really matter." Floran can't see well, but Floran can hear fingers snap. "Floran wants to kill both of you now. Then again, Floran was going to do that anyways. Now hold still, and I'll make sure to end this in a single blow." Then, Floran's vision is blocked by Yuki. She pulled Floran even closer to her, and Floran can't do anything to stop this.

"Close your eyes, Seba. You can rest now," says Yuki, and Floran wants to move, wants to prevent this, but can't. Body is too tired, too weak, too hurt to manage anything. Floran does what Yuki says, and closes eyes.

Yuki, Floran is sorry. Good bye.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Floran doesn't hear the sound of prey being crushed, bone breaking, and blood spilling. Instead, there's a big sound, something Floran has never heard before in Floran's life. It sounds like boom, but a really loud one, followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. Yuki moves, and it gives Floran the room to move. It hurts, but with Yuki's help, Floran manages to sit up, while holding Floran's side. Floran looks to the side, and can see a hole in the ground. Hunters lying on the ground, a few of them are getting up, but they seem to be in pain. The smell of smoke and burning Floran is in the air, but Floran doesn't know what could have caused something like that.

"What just happened?!" Yells Adjoda, he's looking to the direction of the hole. His hammer in his hands and looking around, trying to find the cause of such a thing, but he seems to be having problems finding it.

"Do you hear that?" Asks Yuki.

"Hear what?" Floran asks. Yuki was about to say something, but she looks into the sky, and so does Floran. A big flying thing comes down, breaking branches from the trees as it comes down falling. However, the flying thing stops in mid-air, and before anyone could react, the thing starts to spit something at the hunters.

"Get down!" Yells Yuki, and she pushes Floran back into the ground. It hurt to hit the ground again, but Floran could see why that would be necessary. The things that the flying thing spits hits the hunters, and they fall to the ground. A burning hole is left in their bodies, and Floran realizes that whatever the flying thing is spiting, it's very dangerous. Some of the hunters still standing try to attack the flying thing with their weapons, but they either fail to reach, or does nothing against it. The flying thing, turns towards the attacking hunters, spits something that looks long, and it's on fire from the back. When that thing hits the ground, another boom goes up, and the hunters disappear into ashes.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Yells Adjoda, and runs into the forest. The other hunters follow his example, and run away from the flying thing. That leaves Floran and Yuki as the only ones with the dangerous flying thing, and it's looking at us right now.

"Yuki…run," says Floran, but barely since Floran is in a lot of pain. Yuki looks at the flying thing, but doesn't move.

"That's…" says Yuki as she moves off Floran, and the flying thing turns to the side. Then, it starts to get closer to the ground.

"Yuki, what's wrong?"

"That's my ship."

"Your ship? You mean your 'spaceship'?"

"Yes, but the real question is, who's piloting it?" Floran doesn't know what 'piloting' means, but Floran can hear the spaceship landing. Floran sits up again, and could see the spaceship standing on feet-looking things. Then, its side opens, and a floor comes down. A person is visible, but there's a light coming out of the hole, and it makes it hard to see who it is. The person comes down from the ship, and it starts walking towards us. When the light wasn't so bright, Floran could see who it was, and Floran was very happy, very glad.

"Thank goodness I arrived at the right time," says Idalla as she picks up Floran's sword.

"Idalla, you saved us," says Floran with a smile. With the help of Yuki, Floran manages to get up from the ground.

"Yes I did, but I'm afraid we don't have much time. They'll come back with more hunters, and this young lady needs to get home." Idalla puts Floran's sword back in it's scabbard. Then, Idalla and Yuki help Floran walk to the ship.

"I must ask, how did you know where to find us?" Asks Yuki.

"Some hunters found your ship and brought me here to study it, since I'm the only one who could. I knew instantly that it was a Hylotl ship, and tried to look for you and your friends. To warn you about this planet, but I was too late." Idalla always wanted Florans to be nice, but Florans thought she was crazy. "When I saw you were the only survivor, I had to do something, but as old as I am, there wasn't much I could do. Which is why, I sent Seba with you."

"What?" Floran asks.

"I had faith that you would do something about it. The moment you told me about the day you felt regret for killing an Avian, I knew that there was something special about you." We reach the ship, and Idalla lets go of Floran. That's when Floran felt something was wrong.

"Idalla?"

"I'm afraid, this is where we must part ways." Floran doesn't understand.

"Why?"

"When you've lived as long as I have, you learn when your time is coming," says Idalla, and she looks at Yuki. "Young Hylotl, I'm sorry for what happened to your friends." Then, she looks back to Floran. "Seba, I'm sorry for having to put you through all of this."

"What do you mean?" Idalla is confusing, she's confusing Floran, and making Floran sad.

"The moment I was informed that there was a spaceship on the planet, I knew I had to do everything in my power to get rid of it." Floran doesn't care about that, Floran just want Idalla to come with us.

"To avoid the Floran to spread into other planets," says Yuki, and it confuses Seba even more.

"Spread?" asks Floran.

"That's right. With Adjoda as chief, he would have ordered the tribe to conquer other planets, and would have put innocent people at risk." Everything is getting confusing, that would mean…

"Are Florans evil?" asks Floran, and they both look at Floran. Idalla steps closer to Floran, grabs Floran's face, and look into Floran's eyes.

"We're not evil, Seba. Florans just don't know any better, and they just tend to avoid learning, but we can be better. You're better than them, you learned to be better, you chose to be better, and that makes me so proud of you." She pulls Floran's head closer to hers, and we touch foreheads. Floran is crying right now. Floran is sad and happy at the same time, but mostly happy, because Floran doesn't remember the last time someone said that they were proud of Floran.

"Isn't there something we can do for you?" Asks Yuki and Idalla steps away from Floran.

"I already took some items from your ship, but do not worry. The ship is capable of space travel," says Idalla.

"Floran doesn't want to leave without you," says Floran, tears falling from Floran's face.

"I know, but you have to." Idalla steps farther away from us. "Go, and always be who you are, Seba." Floran wants to say something, but can't. Instead, Floran nods, and hears something. Floran doesn't know what happened, and doesn't care, but a wall starts to come down from the ship. When the wall finally stopped coming down, Floran was hurting everywhere.

"Seba, I need you to sit down for a moment. I need to get the ship into orbit," says Yuki, and Floran just started to sit on the floor. Yuki helped, and when Floran was sitting on the ground, she left. Floran doesn't know where she went, Floran doesn't know what a spaceship looks like on the inside, Floran doesn't know what those noises are, but Floran didn't care. Floran was sad, Floran was hurting everywhere, and Floran was tired.

Floran is going to miss Idalla.


	10. Chapter Extra

**Chapter 9.5**

Well, there they go. Out of this planet, and into the stars. Wish I could have been with them, but this old Floran doesn't really have much time left. Probably a month or two, which I could have used to enjoy visiting other planets, but there's something I wanted to do much more. I look behind me, and just as I thought, they haven't arrived yet, which is a little surprising. I know Florans are fast, which comes handy when living a life of nothing, but hunting and eating. They would hunt anything that is edible, even those that they could reason with. So rare do we hear of a Floran who refuses to hunt certain 'prey'. I still remember the day that happened.

I was just working on my own things at the time. I was at my workbench, full of circuit boards, electric wires, abandoned communicators, broken plasma guns, shock rifles, etc. Then, I hear someone enter my hourse, and look over my shoulder. There she was, standing inside my house, looking confused, thoughtful, and lost. At the time, I didn't pay any real attention to her, I thought she was just another Floran who enjoyed hunting animals, and people. I didn't know her name at the time because I didn't care to really know her. She looked at me, and I looked at her for a few moments, before going back to my work.

"What do you want?" I asked, but I didn't get an answer immediately, so I continued to work. I hoped that she would have left already.

"Greenfinger, Floran has question," said Seba.

"Make it quick, I'm busy." She took her time to ask a question, one that I didn't expect to hear from a Floran.

"Is it wrong to hunt prey?" I stopped working on my workbench in an instant. I was shocked and confused at the same time. I even thought that I heard wrong, since I was getting old. I turn around to look at her in the eye, trying to see if this young Floran was playing a trick.

"Care to repeat that? My age might be messing with my hearing," I say as I walk closer to her. I could see that she was worried, fidgeting in place, so I thought that I got a little liar in my house.

"I-is it wrong to hunt prey?" Seba didn't seem to be lying, and it looked to me that she would be a bad liar, but I was confused as to why she would be asking such a thing.

"I could give you a better answer, if I knew why you would ask such a question," I said, looking at her closely.

"Well, Floran went hunting, Floran found a bird man, and Floran stabbed bird man," said Seba, and I felt sorry for the Avian, but I was more curious about the young Floran. Before she continued with her story, she looked at her hands. "Floran had stabbed many prey before, but this one felt…different." I didn't know what to say, I just kept looking at Seba, surprised to hear a Floran feeling something that wasn't joy. I head for my table, take a seat, and signal to the chair at the other side of the table.

"Take a seat," I said, and she does without question. "I would like to ask you some more questions, is that all right with you?" She simply nods. "Great, my first question would be, did the bird man attack you?"

"No, Floran killed him right after seeing Floran."

"What was he doing?"

"He was just looking at plants, and bugs."

"Did he had a weapon? Like a gun or a sword?"

"Floran didn't saw anything on him." He just came to research the fauna and flora of this planet.

"Well, with what I just heard, I would say that it was wrong that you killed him," I said and I could see that she flinched slightly. "If he had attacked you without provocation, then you would have killed him in self defense, but you didn't."

"So, it is wrong to hunt prey?"

"That kind of 'prey', as you like to call them, should not be harmed, unless they attack you."

"So, Floran should hunt other prey?"

"The real question you should be asking yourself is, would you hunt that kind of prey again?" Seba didn't answer quickly, but I remember her going deep in thought. She looked down, which I assumed she looked at her hands, and took a few moments to answer. I personally thought she would say yes because it would be easier for her to understand, but she showed me that she was a special kind of Floran.

"Floran doesn't want to do it again," said Seba, the first Floran in my life to have said those words, and I knew that she was unique.

"What's your name?" I asked, and she looks at me.

"Seba."

"Well, Seba, I guess that would be it for today, but if you have those kinds of questions again, feel free to come back anytime." Seba smiled at me, got up from the table, and walked up to the door. She stopped at the door, and looked at me.

"Thank you, Greenfinger."

"No need for formalities with me, you can call me Idalla."

It would seem that my reminiscing helped kill some time because they finally arrived at my location. It's not that I could hear them, it was more of feeling their presence, which let's me know that it's time to press this button on my chest. I turn around, and just as I expected, Adjoda had brought more hunters with him, with guns this time. Guns that I helped create, but they have never used them, and I do hope that they do.

"Where are they?" Asks Ajoda.

"They're gone," I answer, and he glares at me.

"You helped them," he says this as he points at me with his hammer.

"Yeah, I did." The look on his face is priceless.

"You know what that means, don't you?" I don't know why he's wasting time like this.

"Of course I know what it means, but is hard to care at my age." He walks up to me, it seems he wants the pleasure to do it himself.

"Any last words, you traitor?" I'm going to enjoy this.

"I do have a few," I say, and put a hand closer to my ear, or what constitutes to an ear. "Do you hear that?" My words confuse him, and he should be. He was probably too angry to have noticed the sounds, but I don't see the reason to hide it any longer. I open my robe, and reveal my last gift to the 'chief' of the Florans. We're going to share it in three…two…one.

May you find peace and love, Seba. Wherever you go.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Floran doesn't know how much time has passed. Floran just stays on the floor, feeling pain, and sad. Tears have stopped coming out of Floran's eyes, but Floran still feels like crying. Idalla is gone, the only Floran who would speak with Floran, who would treat Floran nicely, and she's gone. Floran hears Yuki's voice, Floran didn't even notice her.

"Come on, Seba. We have to treat your wounds," says Yuki, and Floran felt Yuki grab Floran's arm, and put it around her shoulders. Floran got up from the floor, even though Floran didn't care about staying on the floor. Floran keeps looking at the floor, Floran didn't know where Yuki was taking Floran, but she was the only one Floran could trust. Floran walks with Yuki, but it doesn't last long until she stops. Floran sees something that looks like a table, or a bed.

"Get on the bed, you must be tired," says Yuki, and Floran carefully gets on the bed. Floran gets comfortable, or in a way that doesn't hurt Floran's side. "I'll be right back." Yuki leaves after saying that. Floran is glad to be in bed, it is a soft bed, and Floran was tired, but was too sad to pay attention to it. Now that Floran pays attention to it, Floran falls asleep pretty easily. This might be a bad dream.

Floran wakes up, and feels someone moving Floran's sleeve. Floran opens eyes and sees Yuki, moving the sleeves of my armor, and something small with a pointy tip.

"What's that?" asks Floran because Floran doesn't like the pointy thing, it looks like a weapon.

"Seba, calm down, this is a red stim pack, it will help you heal from your wounds," says Yuki, but Floran still doesn't like the pointy thing. "Believe me, I want to help you, and this will help you." Floran looks at Yuki, then at the pack thing, and back to Yuki.

"Is it painful?"

"Yes, but only a little. It will be over before you know it." Floran looks at her for a moment, before nodding. "All right, relax your arm, and I'll do the rest." Floran doesn't know what Yuki means, but Floran simply lets the arm rest on the bed. Yuki turns my arm, so Floran's palm is facing up, and she stabs Floran in the middle of forearm. It does hurt, but just as Yuki said, it didn't hurt as much as Floran thought. She presses the back of the pack thing, and red water starts to disappear. It doesn't take long, it feels almost instantly, but the pain starts to go away. Yuki pulls a chair, it looks like the ones Idalla had in her house, and it makes Floran a little sad.

"Floran wishes this was a dream," says Floran.

"Me too," says Yuki and Floran wonders why. Yuki's eyes look tired, empty, distant, and it confuses Floran. Then, Floran realizes why she would say that, why she would look like that, and Floran feels bad for her. Yuki saw her dead friends, their dead eyes, and their blood flowing from their bodies. Compared to Floran, Yuki lost more than Floran, and Floran was only caring about Floran. It doesn't feel right, and Floran wants to do something for Yuki, but Floran is too tired to do much, except for one thing. Floran can see her hands on her lap, and Floran puts a hand on top of them. Yuki looks surprised for a moment, looks at my hand, then at Floran.

"Floran couldn't save your friends, Floran can't bring them back, but Floran promise to protect you. No matter what," says Floran. She looks surprised, but she smiles after a moment, and grabs Floran's hand with both of her hands.

"Thank you, Seba. I couldn't do anything to help Idalla, and I'm the reason you lost your home, but I promise to take care of you. No matter what," says Yuki, and puts Floran's hand back on the bed. Floran can't deny that it started with her, but Floran doesn't blame her. Floran made a choice, Floran wanted to save Yuki, and Floran doesn't regret it. "You need to rest now, it will take a while for the medicine to fully heal you, and even longer to reach our destination."

"Where are we going?" Floran doesn't know how spaceships work, but Idalla said that they could travel in something called 'space' to reach other worlds.

"We're going back to my home," says Yuki and Floran could only guess that there are going to be more like Yuki. However, Floran started to worry about going there.

"Do other, how are you called again? Hytotel, Hytole…?" Floran doesn't remember the name well, it sounded difficult.

"Hylotl."

"Yeah, that, do they fear Florans?" Floran's question might be a bad one because Yuki looks worried.

"Look, you're a good Floran, I know you are, but…" Yuki looks everywhere, but Floran's eyes. "…not everyone knows that, and there's some bad history between our races."

"History?" That made Yuki look back at Floran.

"Yeah, you don't know about it?"

" Floran was never told about history, Floran never cared about it. Florans only cared about hunting and stabbing prey, it's what kept our bellies full."

"Seba, Florans took my homeworld." Floran doesn't know what to say. Florans took Hylotl home, and Floran knows that Florans killed and ate Hylotl. It's just what Florans would have done. "Don't think too hard on it, it's all in the past, and we forgave the Florans."

"How?" Floran sits up. "How can Hylotl forgive Florans? Florans took from Hylotl, killed Hylotl, and Hylotl forgives Florans?" Floran can't understand that.

"That's just how our culture is, but you are right. While many of my kind forgave the Florans for what they have done, there are some who…" Yuki doesn't speak, and that worries Floran.

"What?" It takes a moment for Yuki to answer, but it's an answer that makes Floran feel bad.

"There are some who want to see the Florans burn." Florans hate fire, Florans are afraid of it, but Floran is afraid to go to a place where people hate Floran. At least in Floran's tribe, no one hated Floran enough to try and kill. Floran feels a hand on Floran's forehead, and Floran sees Yuki. "Don't be afraid, Seba. I made you a promise, remember? Besides, I have an idea on how to get you inside." Floran can see it in her face, she's serious in keeping that promise, just like Floran promised to protect her.

Floran wonders what kind of idea Yuki has in mind.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Floran wakes up from a good sleep. Floran moves, and notice that there's no pain anymore, that red pack thing really helped Floran heal. Floran sits up, and stretches, Floran really needed to sleep, it was a rough day. Floran still wishes that Idalla was here, but knowing her, she would scold Floran for wasting time being sad. Now that Floran is better, Floran looks around the room, and everything looks so strange. The walls, ceiling, and the floor are made of metal. Floran looks up, and sees something bright on the ceiling, which is so strange because Floran can't see any fire in it. Floran sees a table nearby, it has a box with a green line on top of it, a bag with some strange liquid, and little glass tubes with other strange liquids. There are other beds in the room, but that's not important right now. The important thing is that Floran doesn't see a door, but there is a part a wall that looks suspicious. Floran gets up from bed, and walks up to the strange looking are of the wall. When Floran gets close enough, the wall opens up on its own, like magic.

Floran leaves the room and see various corridors, one going straight, three on the left side, and two on the right side. Floran starts to walk forward, and looks inside each of the corridors. They all seem to reach a dead end, but since the other wall opened, those dead ends might open too. Floran doesn't know where to go, so Floran simply starts to go through each wall. The first one seems to have tables with chairs, and on the corner has another table with strange metal boxes. The next one had a strange, round blue table, a metal box with a bright ball inside of it, and tables with weapons. Floran never got a gun before, but Floran has seen other hunters with a rifle. The third room had a little table with a transparent blue paper, and a metal bench with tools, like a hammer and some weird looking tools. The fourth room has a gray box, with dirty on top of it, and some weird tubes dropping water on some plants. There are other plants around the room, some with different fruits and vegetables. The fifth room was small and empty. The last room is where Floran finds Yuki sitting on a chair, in front of a table with a lot of little lights, and a window looking into space. She hears the wall open and looks over her shoulder to see Floran.

"Hello, Seba, did you sleep well?" asks Yuki with a smile. She doesn't look as tired as before, which makes Floran happy.

"Yes, Floran slept well, but Floran is confused with all of this," says Floran while waving at everything around Floran.

"I can imagine that. After all, this is your first time traveling inside a spaceship."

"Floran feels like Floran is in a completely different world, with walls opening on their own, strange lights, and weird liquids."

"If that's strange to you, just wait until we reach home." After she says that, we hear a strange sound, and a voice.

"You have arrived to your destination," says the strange voice.

"Who's that?" Asks Floran.

"That's just S.A.I.L, the ship's A.I."

"Where is he?" Yuki giggles, and Floran doesn't know why.

"He's not real, he's just a program." Floran gets answer, but the answer is just another confusing thing.

"What's a program?"

"It's a…science thing." That answer made more sense than anything else. "Anyways, we're here." Floran looks out the window, and sees a planet. At least, that's what Floran thinks is a planet, Floran remembers Idalla talking about planets and how different they are.

"This whole planet is your home."

"Well, no. You could say that my tribe lives somewhere in this planet." Now she's speaking in a way Floran understands.

"So, where's your tribe?"

"Let me show you," says Yuki. She moves something in her hands, and the spaceship moves towards the planet. Floran thought that Yuki would smash the spaceship on the giant planet, but it didn't. Floran can see that we were far from the planet, we were up in the sky, and a large sea was below us. Floran would have put face on the window, but the weird table was in the way. There isn't much land, just little spots of sand, with few weird trees that Floran has never seen.

"Your tribe lives in one of this little spots of land?" asks Floran because Floran can't believe that a tribe could live in these small spots of land.

"Oh no, we don't live on land," says Yuki and it confuses Floran.

"Then, where does your tribe live?"

"We live underwater." Floran looks at Yuki.

"What?" Yuki moves the thing in her hands, and the spaceship goes straight into the sea. "Wait! Floran has never been in this much water!" The goes so fast, by the time Floran finished saying that, the spaceship was swallowed by water. Floran was scared that water would get into the ship, and looked at Yuki, who was calm. Floran starts looking around, and notice that water wasn't getting into the spaceship.

"It's okay, water can't get into the ship."

"You could have said that before Floran got scared."

"Sorry, I forgot that this would be your first time underwater." After Yuki said that, we hear a voice coming from the weird table.

"This is the Control Center of Hirakawa City, identify yourself, over." Floran doesn't know who that is, but sounds important.

"This is Team Alpha C-43, requesting permission to land, over." Floran didn't understand any of that because Floran doesn't know what alpha is, or why is necessary to ask permission to land.

"Identity confirmed, you are granted permission to land. Welcome back, over." Floran has questions.

"Who was that? Where did the voice come from? Is someone inside this table?" Floran thought of pressing something, but changed mind.

"It's science, very complicated, and we don't really have much time for this," says Yuki, pushes some buttons, and leaves her seat.

"Why?" Floran asks.

"It won't take long for the ship to reach the city, and there will be guards inside the hangar. I have to prepare a way to get you inside undetected." Yuki walks into the main corridor, and Floran follows behind her.

"Do you need Floran's help?" We enter the small, empty room.

"Don't worry, it's nothing complicated." Yuki presses some button on the wall, the door closes, and the small room starts to move. When the room stops moving, the door opens, and there's a really big room, full of boxes of different sizes. Yuki walks up to a big box, and Floran follows behind her. When Floran reach Yuki, she turns towards Floran.

"Seba, I want you to know that everything is okay, and is going to be okay. If something happens, don't make any sudden movements, and let me do the talking, understand?" Says Yuki. She looks serious, and worried.

"Floran trusts you, and knows that you're very smart. Floran is going to follow your instructions without hesitation because Floran is sure that your plan is going to work," says Floran, and Yuki smiles. Floran wasn't lying, Floran trusts Yuki very much, so Floran is sure that Floran is going to love whatever plan Yuki has.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Floran doesn't like this idea," says Floran, even though Floran trusts Yuki, but Floran still doesn't like idea.

"Sorry, but I don't have any other way to get you in without the guards noticing you. Just wait in the crate, and I'll come back for you," says Yuki.

"Do we need to go through all this problem? You said Hylotl forgave Florans."

"Remember when I said most Hylotl forgave the Florans?"

"Yes."

"These Hylotl aren't most of them." Florans doesn't know what to say about this. Floran just keep looking at Yuki, Floran doesn't want to be away from her, even though she can't fight. "It's going to be okay, just be quiet, and I'll come for you, okay?"

"Yes." Floran feels like little sprout, but still trusts Yuki.

"Okay, here's some snacks while you're in there." Yuki gives Floran fruits and vegetables. Even some square looking thing. "Remember to take off the wrapping first." Then, Yuki closes the crate, and Floran hears some weird noise, before it goes silent.

It's dark, Floran can't see anything, but can only feel what's around Floran. However, Yuki did give Floran this little stick, which she said to move something on it, and light will come out of it. It's hard to see the thing when it's completely dark in here. Floran has to rely on fingers to find, and Floran does find it. Floran push it up, and a light comes out of it. Yuki called it a flashlight, but it looks like a stick, so Floran is going to call stick of light. It makes more sense to Floran because it looks like a stick. Inside the crate, there are a lot of strange things, and most of them have some red cross on them, just like the red cross that Yuki had on her clothes. These might be her things, so Floran will try to be careful with them. Then, Floran starts to hear noises outside the crate. Floran doesn't know what they are, but it sounds like the walls that moved on their own. Except that these ones sound louder, so it might be a big wall. Floran can hear footsteps, and something big.

"Whoa, their hold is almost full. How long do you think they've been out there?" Says one voice. It sounds like a male, Floran wonders if it's a friend of Yuki.

"Probably months. They do have to find resources out in space," says another voice, and this one sounded female.

"Wish I could go into adventures like that."

"I rather stay close to home. Who knows what kinds of dangers could be out there."

"Like some wild animal, or carnivorous plants." Floran hears something big moving around the room they call hold.

"Yes, like those, but I can think of worse." Floran can hear something moving, and it makes weird noises. Whatever it is, it leaves the spaceship.

"Here we go again." Floran can hear his footsteps, moving around the room. He doesn't seem to be doing much, just walking around the room. Then, Floran hears the big thing again.

"I mean, what else could be worse than going into a new planet, only to be attacked by savage people," says the female voice again.

"Let me guess, Florans." What?

"Exactly. Think about it, when was the last time you heard of Avians, Apex, or any other race attacking innocent people, and eat them?"

"Everyone knows that only Florans do that, but we have to be fair here. There are bandits in space."

"At least they don't spread into other planets like the Florans. I still feel chills just thinking about it."

"Then it's a good thing that Florans aren't welcomed into the city."

"They should be shot on sight, that would make one less Floran in the universe to worry about." Floran hears the big machine moving again.

"I'm pretty sure they would be if they stepped foot into the city. It would seem that their Greenfingers can't control such evil creatures."

"Now, let us continue our work. The faster is done, the sooner we'll get to go home." The noise continues, the footsteps, the big wall moving, over and over. Floran sits still in the crate, feeling scared, angry, and sad. Scared that they might open the crate and find Floran. Angry that they said bad things about Florans, without knowing Floran first. Sad that Floran can't refuse most of it, even though Floran wants to. Floran left one home, to escape an angry tribe, only to arrive into a place that hates Florans. Now, more than ever, Floran wishes that Idalla or Yuki was here. Suddenly, Floran feels the whole crate move, as if something lift it off the ground. Floran knows not to make a sound, or the people outside might hear Floran. Floran is so worried of being found out, that Floran turns off the stick of light. It doesn't take long for whatever it is that's grabbing the crate, to put it down on the ground again.

Floran just waits inside the crate, in complete darkness, listening to all the sounds close to the crate. Floran can hear people talking, some about work, someone talked about going on break, and someone said what could be a joke. Someone was laughing, but Floran wasn't laughing because they spoke of things Floran didn't know about. Then, there was silence, no voices, no weird noises, no strange jokes, just silence. Floran would like to come out of the crate, but fears to be found out, so Floran stays inside. Yuki did say to wait and she would come, but Floran wants to get out, and feels safer than this. Floran pushes the thing on the stick of light, and points at Floran's legs, where the snacks are. Floran would like some food, so Floran eats the fruits and vergetables. Floran doesn't want to be ungrateful, but Floran would have preferred some meat over just fruits and vegetables.

Time passed, and Floran was getting bored. Floran starts to inspect the stuff that's in the crate, and Floran sees things that Floran have never seen. Floran tries to make it quietly, since Floran doesn't know if there's someone out there. Floran sees some bandages, some of those tubes with a needle on it, some blue cloth, and more strange liquids. With nothing else to do, Floran looks at the square thing that Yuki gave to Floran. She said that Floran should take off the wrapping first, even though Floran doesn't know what she meant. Floran inspects it, and feels the strange material. Floran can see that Floran can just pull off whatever that it's wrapped around the thing, and Floran just do that. Once Floran is done, the wrapping reveals a dark brown square-looking thing. It's solid, and Floran smells it, but Floran doesn't recognize the smell. Yuki gave Floran snacks, so this thing must be a snack too. That would leave only one course of action, which is to eat it. Floran takes a bite out of it, and Floran can only describe it as sweet. Floran likes it a lot, and Floran can't resist eating the whole thing really fast. It seems that the sweet thing melts because there are some spots on Floran's fingers, so Floran licks it off. It was something sweet, something that Floran enjoyed, but it ended too quickly. Floran hopes to find more of that dark brown square thing. Now, there was nothing else to do, but to wait for Yuki to come for Floran.

Floran hopes that she comes soon.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Floran hears something, and starts to wake up. Floran took a nap while waiting for Yuki, and Floran thinks that she's here because Floran can hear a voice.

"Seba, are you okay?" Asks Yuki.

"Floran is okay," answers Floran.

"Good, that's good, let me open this for you." Floran can hear some noises outside, but Floran doesn't know what it is. It sounds like beeps, different kinds, and the top of the crate opens. Floran looks at Yuki, who is wearing different clothes, once that Floran has never seen before. Then, Floran looks around, and the place is big, with metal walls, lights coming from the ceiling, and other crates just like the one Floran was using.

"Where are we?" Asks Floran while looking around.

"This is one of our warehouse, it's just a place where we put a bunch of things." The warehouse has a lot of things, Floran doesn't know what it is, but they have a lot of things. "Come on, most people are asleep at this time."

"Is the sun down already?" Floran can't believe Floran slept that long.

"You could say that." She looks around, and looks back at me. "Let's go, who knows when the workers will get back."

"About that…" Yuki looks confused.

"What is it?"

"Floran can just stay here, Floran will just hide, and they won't hurt Floran." Floran doesn't want to go into dangerous place full of people who hate Floran.

"It's going to be fine, there aren't a lot of people in the city right now. We can just stick to the shadows, and we'll reach home."

"Floran prefers to hide here, Floran can find a lot of places to hide."

"Seba, this isn't a good place to hide, the workers are sleeping, but they'll be here in the morning, and they might inspect the crates." Floran still doesn't like it, but when put like that, Floran doesn't have many options.

"Okay, Floran will go, but I hope you have more of that dark brown brick." Floran gets out of the crate, and Yuki looks at me confused.

"Dark brown brick?"

"Yeah, the sweet one." Yuki seems to realize what Floran was talking about.

"Oh, that's chocolate, and when we get to my home, I'll get you more."

"Deal."

"Then follow me, and keep quiet. If someone sees us, let me do the talking, okay?" Floran nods, and we go on our way out of the warehouse. We go to what looks like a door, but it looks better shaped than what Florans can do. However, Florans prefer to use vines than doors. Yuki opens the door slightly, and peeks outside. She beckons Floran to follow her, and we get out of the warehouse.

Floran didn't know what to expect to see in a Hylotl city, but Floran can say that it's not something Floran could ever imagine. We get out into a corridor, but the corridor is made of metal with glass, and Floran can see outside. The city is truly under water, and Floran can see sand outside, with some strange plants growing outside. Floran can also see what must be fish, some really big, and other really small. There are lights in the corridor, and Floran would have seen more, but Floran feels a hand grab Floran's hand.

"Come on, there's no one here," says Yuki, and we continue on our way. We reach some stairs, and we start to go up. Then, we get into this big room, where we can see this round statue made of some bright metal, and lights on the ground pointing at it. We continue through another corridor, and we enter another big room, with some decoration that looks like their faces, and some glass boxe with fishes. We reach more stairs, we go up again, and we go right. We go through a corridor, passing a metal box with a window, and inside of the box were more wrapped things.

"Are those chocolates?" Asks Floran with a smile. Floran wants more chocolate.

"I'll get you some later," says Yuki.

"Okay." We also pass a table with chairs, but the weird thing is that the table had three red crystals that make it look like Yuki's face. Passing that, we reach more stairs, and Floran just wonders if Hylotl like stairs so much. We go up, and Yuki walks up to one of the many doors in the corridor.

"Okay, this is my apartment," says Yuki and she pulls something thing out of her pocket. She slides it into the door, we hear some beep sound, and she opens the door. She waves at Floran to go inside, and Floran does it quickly. The apartment, or whatever Yuki called it, is just as strange as the whole city. Floran doesn't even know what is what. The floor is metal, just like the corridors outside, but there's some couches, a table made of glass, a rug underneath, lights in the ceiling, and there's this weird board on the wall.

"Floran doesn't know what to say," says Floran.

"Well, I hope it's nothing bad. It is my apartment after all," says Yuki.

"It's not that it's bad, it's that Floran has never seen this kind of furniture."

"Well, let me give you a quick tour." Yuki gets to the middle of the room. "This is my living room, my couches, coffee table, and that, which I'm sure you have no idea what it is, is my widescreen TV."

"What does this TV do?"

"It shows moving pictures, and many other things. You'll get to try it some other time." She goes to a room behind the living room, and Floran follows. The room had cupboards, a metal box, a table with chairs, and so on. "This is the kitchen, I'll show you what you can eat later, but you're still free to grab whatever you need." We leave the kitchen, get back into the living room, and we go to a corridor. There's a door to the left, one to the right, one at the end. Yuki goes to the door on the right, and Floran follows.

"This is the bathroom," says Yuki, and doesn't say anything else. Even Floran knows what a bathroom is.

"Okay, got it."

"Good." We leave the bathroom, and Yuki enter the room to the left of the corridor. "This is my office, sometimes I have to bring my work home, so I might spend some time in here." Floran can see a table with a strange chair, and bookshelves.

"Is the last room your bedroom?"

"That's right, come on." We walk to the last room left, and go inside. The room has a bed, some papers on the wall behind the bed, a closet on the far wall, and another TV hanging on the wall to the left. The room isn't that big, but there's more than enough room for one person, maybe two. "Welcome to my bedroom."

"It's very clean, just like the rest of your apartment."

"Thanks," says Yuki and walks to her closet. She opens it, and starts to grab things from it. "You can sleep on the couch, here's a blanket and an extra pillow." She leaves her room and walks to the living room. Floran follows, hoping that the couch is better than sleeping in a crate. She sets the pillow and the blanket, even though Floran could have done that. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

"Okay."

"Well then, see you in the morning." Yuki walks away, leaving Floran in the living room. Floran takes armor off, and leaves. Floran would have put something else, but that day was a hot day. Floran gets on the couch, covers Floran with blanket, and goes to sleep.

Floran wonders how they know when morning is without looking at the sun.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Floran is enjoying sleeping, and even more since this couch is so comfortable. It's like the softest fur a hunter could get, and Floran has slept in many furs, but none of them compares to this. Floran would have continued to enjoy the wonderful couch, but a smell in the air got Floran's attention. Floran sniffs the air, and whatever the food is, it smells delicious, but nothing like meat. Floran sits up on the couch, with eyes closed, but sniffing the air, trying to find where it's coming from. Floran gets up from the couch, keeps sniffing the air, and follows the scent. Floran has eyes closed, so Floran doesn't see where Floran is going, but can guess that it would be the kitchen. Floran can tell that Floran entered the kitchen because the smell was very strong. Floran can hear someone in the kitchen, moving things, and something making a clanking noise.

"Yuki?" Says Floran while rubbing an eye.

"Good mor–" says Yuki before Floran hears her yelp. Floran opens an eye, and sees Yuki wearing a shirt, and very small pants. Floran doesn't know if those are pants, they only cover up to mid-thigh. She has something on her hand, but Floran doesn't know what it is. It has a handle, and the top is flat with three holes in the shape of lines. She looks surprised about something.

"Is something wrong?"

"You're naked." Floran looks down, and she was right. Floran wasn't wearing her leaves, Floran forgot to put them back on because the smell was too good to ignore.

"Oh, yeah." Floran starts to wake up, and Yuki still looks surprised. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…I mean, I know Floran physiology, so I know you don't have 'certain things'. Even your breasts aren't really breasts, they're mostly a sexual dimorphism. Although, your race is unisex, so their purpose is still–"

"Yuki, Floran doesn't know what 'physiology' is, or 'sexual dimorphism'. Did Floran do something bad?" Floran doesn't like causing problems for Yuki, or make her feel bad.

"No no no, you didn't do anything I just…" Yuki looks away from Floran. "I feel awkward, looking at you, knowing that you're naked." Yuki looks back at Floran, but her face looks a little red. "Not that you look bad or anything, you have a very nice body." Yuki gets more red. "Scientifically speaking."

"Oh, thank you. You look nice too, and sorry about making you feel awkward." She smiles at Floran.

"Thanks, and don't worry about it too much. Our cultures are very different, I should have expected something like this. If you need clothes I think I might have something your size."

"Don't worry, Floran has clothes, Floran will go and get them." Floran starts to walk out of the kitchen.

"Alright, wash your hands in the bathroom. I'll have breakfast ready."

"Okay." Floran goes back to the living room, and gets her leaves. With that done, Floran goes to the bathroom, and tries to find how to wash hands. Floran can see a toilet, a bathtub, and a bowl with a pipe over it. Floran knows that bathtub is to take baths, and the toilet is for nasty things, which leaves the bowl to wash hands. Floran tries to use it, but Floran doesn't know how to use it. Floran sees two handles, one on each side of the pipe over the bowl. Floran grabs one and tries to pull it, but nothing happens. Floran tries to turn it, and it does turn, which makes water come out of the pipe thing. Floran wash hands with the water, and Floran turns the handle the other way to make water stop coming out. Floran learned a new thing, and that makes Floran feel proud. Floran leaves the bathroom and goes back to the kitchen.

Floran enters the kitchen, and Floran can see was already eating. She was drinking something from a cup, but the moment she sees Floran, she spits it out. She also starts coughing, and Floran quickly moves closer to her.

"Yuki, are you okay?" Asks Floran with concern. Yuki coughs one more time before she answers.

"Yeah, you just surprised me," says Yuki.

"Really? Floran wasn't even trying to sneak on you." Floran takes a seat in front of her.

"It's not that you sneaked up on me, it's just…" Yuki doesn't say anything, and that confuses Floran.

"What is it?" Yuki's face turns a bit red again. "I'm not naked, see?"

"I know, you did put something on."

"Then, what is it? Does Floran smell?"

"Of course not, I just thought you would put more than just a couple of leaves."

"It's that bad?"

"No, just surprising, I thought you would put on a shirt and pants, not just leaves that barely cover you."

"Floran's home was a bit hot, so Floran only put these."

"It was summer when we met."

"But if you prefer, Floran wouldn't mind putting something else."

"I appreciate that, and don't worry. I'll get you something nice, you'll see."

"Okay."

"Now, I'm a little curious about your thoughts on some Hylotl cuisine."

"Is cuisine food?"

"Yes."

"Great!" Floran checks food, and Floran can see some unique types of food. Floran can see two bowls, one with white seeds, and the other one has water with white squares in it. In one plate, there's this yellow rectangle-shaped thing, which looks soft. In another plate there's a whole cooked fish, which was cut open in half. Finally, Floran can see some seeds in a little bowl. Floran can also see some sticks, but Floran doesn't know for what.

"I'll be honest, this is pretty much the basic stuff. I made rice, miso soup, an egg omelet, and fish." She pointed at each thing in front of Floran, but Floran starts eating anyways. Floran is too hungry to care what it is, and Floran trusts Yuki. Floran grabs a bit of rice, and eats it. Somehow, the rice tastes good, but it could be better if it had some meat in it.

"This rice is good."

"Um, Seba." Floran grabs a piece of fish and bites it. The fish tastes like any other fish, and is not as good as meat, but it's still good.

"Yeah?"

"Did Florans in your village used utensils?"

"What's that?" Floran finish the fish in two bites.

"Depending on the place, utensils are little tools used to prepare or to eat food. Like these ones." Yuki shows Floran a pair of sticks, just like the ones in front of Floran.

"You need those to eat?"

"Not really, but that's just how we eat."

"So, you want Floran to eat with sticks?"

"I have forks and spoons if you prefer." Floran can see how she manages to eat with a pair of sticks.

"Floran prefers fork and spoon, whatever those are." Yuki nods, gets up from the table, and goes to a drawer. She grabs what she needs, and comes back to the table. "Here you go, this one is the fork, and this one is the spoon." She puts it in front of Floran, and takes the sticks away.

"Thank you." Floran grabs the fork, and sticks it on the yellow rectangle. Floran tries to lift the whole thing, but it's so soft, that only a piece of it comes off it. Floran puts the yellow thing in Floran's mouth, and Floran likes it. Floran hears Yuki giggle, and it confuses Floran.

"What?"

"Sorry, you just remind me of a kid."

"Well, this is something new to Floran."

"I know, I just couldn't help it." Floran shrugs and continues to eat. Everything is tasty, but Yuki finishes before Floran does. "Seba, I need you to pay close attention to me." Yuki sounds serious, so Floran pays attention.

"What is it?"

"As you know, I'm a doctor, or a healer if you prefer, and I have a job in the city."

"Okay." Floran nods, Floran probably doesn't fully understand, but Floran can understand the basics.

"So, I'm about to go and change."

"Change what?"

"Clothes, these aren't exactly appropriate where I work, but that's not the point."

"Okay?"

"The point is that I have to leave my apartment to go to work."

"You're leaving Floran?" Floran doesn't want that.

"Don't worry, it's just for a couple of hours, I'll be back before you notice." At least she's coming back.

"That's good."

"So, I need you to stay in the apartment, and never leave it. Don't open the door to any stranger, don't answer the phone, and don't make too much noise."

"That's a lot of rules, but Floran will follow them."

"Good, there's food in the fridge, and don't worry about the dishes. I'll deal with them when I get home."

"Floran can clean them."

"I know you can, but a lot of the stuff in the apartment uses science, so I rather be here to teach you how everything works in here." That sounds reasonable. Yuki picks up her dishes, and puts them inside some metal box. "Well then, I'm going to change."

"Okay." Yuki leaves the kitchen. Floran still doesn't understand why Yuki needs to change to heal people, or why she has to leave if they can come to her, but Hylotl things already sound a bit weird. Oh well, Floran is still hungry, and continues eating food.

Still, Floran doesn't want to be left alone.


End file.
